Automatic weft-replenishing loom.



Y J. NORTHROP. AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLEN'ISHING LOOM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-9. 19x4.

Patented June 8, 1915.

, To all whom it may concern: I l

UNITED, sra'rns PATENT ornron; f

JONAS nonrnnor, or Hummus, MASSACHUSETTS, assielvon T HOIEDALE MANU- racrumne coMPAimbr HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS/A conronn'rron or MAS- SACHUSETTS.

Be it known that I, JONAS Non'rrrnor, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopedale, in the county of jWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented ce'r-' tain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Weft-Replenishing Looms; and. I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

. clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others Skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same. a

The present invention relates to an improvemnt in automatic weft replenishing looms.

When the Northrop loom was first invented, it was proposed to apply the weft replenishing mechanism to old looms, but

without success, as it was found that the condition of old looms varied sowidely as to prejudice the successful application of the replenisbgg mechanism to I the loom in the correct p ition with relation to the lay. An attachment for a loom which had been under operation for ten years would require considerable alteration in order to adapt it to a loom which had been in operation for thirty years, and the manufacturer achieved no success in introducing the loom into commercial use until a complete loom was builtv having embodied in it the weft replenishing mechanism. Since that time other manufacturers have made similar endeavor to ap-- ply weft replenishing mechanism to old looms, but heretofore without success. It

will be observed that the condition of wear ofthe rocker shaft would vary the position of the lay beam as much sometimes as 3. of an'inch, and in order correctly to position the weft replenishing mechanism with relation to the lay this had to be taken into consideration. Again, in applying the attachment to diiferent kinds of old looms, a great number of patterns for the hopper plate were required, each having a, foot of different form toadapt it to the particular loom to which it was to be attached. This would have required a large number of expensive patterns,thereby increasing the manufacturing cost to a very considerable de gree, as the greater part of each pattern, and the most expensive part, would be identical with the greater part of all the other pat- Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

AUTOMATIC WEFT-REPLENISHING LO0M.-

terns, and only a comparatively inexpensive portlon would be difi'erent.

Patented J l ne 8, 1915. Application filed October 9, 1914. Serial No. 865,850.

One of the objects of this invention is to tachment adapted for application to old looms, having the capacity of correct adjustment of the position of the meehanism to the lay irrespective of the condition of wear of the rocker shaft, and another object of t e inventionis to produce ta con struction by virtue of which the cost of the attachment can be reduced. i

To these ends the invention consists in produce a weft replenishing mechanism at: '7

the attachment hereinafter. described and I particularly defined in the claims, inwhich mansion is made for relative adjustment of the attachment to the lay beam and in which the 'hopper'plate is made of two 'or more parts so that. the more complicated and expensive parts of the hopper plate may be the same for all attachments, and the foot or bracket bv which it is, attachedto the 100m mav-be a separate casting, comparatively inexpensive, and adapted in each case for the particular loom to which the at tachment. is to be applied. a i

In the accompanying-drawings illustrating the referred form of the invention, Figure l is an elevation of a portion of a loom with the weft replenishing mechanism attached thereto; Fig. 2. is a left-hand end elevation of the hopper plate and hopper plate foot orbracket illustratingthe mode vof attachment of the layto the breast beam and showing the position of the lay with relation thereto; 3 is a' perspective view of ahopper plate embodying the present looms to which the. attachment may be applied; and Figs. 4, 5a1id 6 illustrate difi'er-j ent feet or brackets bv which the hopper plate is attached to different forms of looms.

The illustrated embodiment of the i'nven:

tion is described as follows :,The weft replenishing mechanism is shown as mounted invention adapted for use with all types of l on the right-hand end of the breast beam'B of the loom, and the upper portion of the end frames F are shown. The hopper plate 1 which is the frame of the weft replenishing mechanism, is provided'with a vertical slot or guideway 2 which receives theplate or upright 3 of the hopper plate bracket or foot indicated in a general way by the referonce character 4.; The hopper plate carries eral adjustment of the base on'the breast beam. By means of these two slots the hopper plate bracket or foot may be secured in correct position on the breast beam, the slots being provided for longitudinal and transverse adjustment. The hopper plate upright 3 fits the guideway or slot 2 and it is provided with vertical slots 11 which receive the bolts 12 by which the hopper plate is secured to the hopper plate bracket or foot. The hopper plate is provided with a boss 13 which receives an adjusting screw 14:, havinga set nut 15, the lower end of which set screw takes intoa recess 16in the upper end of the upright 3 of the hopper plate bracket or foot.

1n tpplying the weft replenishing attachinept to the loom, pro er slots are first cut in the breast beam. hen the hopper plate bracket or foot is secured-to it in approximate position. Thereafter the hopper plate is mounted on the upright of the bracket or foot and tentatively secured in place by the bolts 12. Then when the various parts of the weft replenishing mechanism are mountedon the hopper plate, the device as a whole is adjusted to the proper position to bring its parts into correct vertical,- lateral and longitudinal position with relation to the lay. With different looms the different feet 17, 18 and 19, or others, as the case may be, are employed ncl with all of the attachments a common hopper plate is employed.

It will be observed that by makingthe hopper plate in two or more parts, an important manufacturing economy is secured, as the number of patterns required for the hopper plate is reduced to one, irrespective of the form of the loom to which the attachmentis tp be applied and that the comparatively inezipensivehopper plate bracket or foot is "the only piece of the mechanism which is required to be particularly adapted to the loom to which the attachment is to be applied. ;}It is also to be observed'that the provision for vertical adjustment between the hopper plate and the hopper plate bracket or foot, which insures a correct verticzll position of the weft replenishing mechanism with respect to the lay, is of great importancein maintaining the looms in operative condition. It has been observed that in weft replenishing looms after a comparatively few years of life the wear of the loom T is such as to require the replacement of the entire loom, involving. the user of the looms in a large expense, whereas in looms pro vided with the weft replenishing attachment ing, the hopper would have a certain position. with relation to the lay in such Worn condition. If new the lay, rocker shaft bearing should be renewed, such renewal would involve raising the lay beam, it might be to such a substantial extent as to throw the weft replenishing mechanism out of operative relation thereto, and in the present construction it will only be. necessary to loosen'the bolts by which the hopper plate is secured to the hopper plate bracket or foot and to screw down the adjusting screw 14 so as to liftthe hopper plate up a distance sufficient to bring the weft replenishing mechanism again into proper operative relation to the lay, whereupon the bolts securing the hopper plate to the hopper plate bracket or foot will again be tightened and the adjustment thereby completed.

It is of the utmost importance, in order to secure the efiicient operation of the loom,

that the weft replenishing mechanism should be susceptible of being adjusted to the correct position with relation to the lay irrespective of the condition of wear of the loom at any given time. This attachment has been successfully applied to old looms in large numbers, and in widely varying conditions of wear, and'with a great economy to the mill by reason of the saving secured to it in being enabled to apply a small atl.

tachment to the l s which may be long retained in operation,,instead of being junked after a comparatively few'years of operation. The construction is not only of the utmost importance in connection with" the application of weft replenishing attachments to old looms, butit is of great importance in connection with new looms, for it will greatly prolong the usual life of loom "especially constructed as a weft replenishing loom, continuing it in operation long beyond the eriod at which such loom. otherwise would e required to be re laced by a new loom. Especially constructs weft replenishing looms have required replace ment after no longer period of use than fifteen or twenty years, -This attachment has been applied to plain looms forty years old, in large numbers and with great success.

So far as I am aware I am the first to make a hopper plate for, weft replenishing mechanism in two parts, and Idesire'to claim this invention broadly as it contributes to two important results above pointed out, towit, economyggi manufacture and 4 rangedtsfor attachment to the hams of durability of the-106m. 'flloomfsaiti attachment frame aTind "bracket Havin Thus described the invention what" having pl gvlsion' by virtue ofbwhich the is claimed is: 1., I v 5 1. A weft replenishing attachment. for justed in positionfwithrelationtotheopen '1' looms having, incombination, a frame for ativeparts of the loomw the attachment having provision for sup- '3. A weft replenishing attachment for porting the operative parts of the mechalooms having, in 'combinatiomla frame for nism and abracket or foot separate from the attachment having provision for sup"-- the-attachment frame constructed and arporting the operative parts of the mecha.- 1 ranged for attachment to the frame of a nism,and a'braeket or foot constructed and I 100m said attachment frame and foot havarranged for attachment to the frame (if-1a v ing cooperating portions fitting each other loom, having provision for vertical-adjust I and contributin to correct positioning of ment of the weft replenishin' mechanism the parts to eac other. a V on the bracket or foot by whic the a-;

A weft replenishing attachment for ment is supported on thewl looms having, in combination, a frame for r the attachment having provision for sup-r JONAS QR I porting the operative parts of the mecha; Witnesses: Q nism, and a bracket or foot separate from BLANCHE MAYNARD,

the attachment frame constructed and ar- Em A. Nansen.

weft replenishing mechanism may bead- 

